Words Unspoken
by leoslady4ever
Summary: There are some things a woman is never meant to hear. One of these things is the way men talk about her when she's not around. And when this happens to Lucy, she refuses to go quietly into the dark and pretend she never heard a thing. Because she's got a bone to pick with them, and for one in particular, it'll be the fight of his life.


_Okay I have no idea where this came from, but here you go. A gift of bitchy Lucy just for you! lol_

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 _ **Hiro Mashima** owns Fairy Tail, cause we all know he would never let Lucy go wild like this. _

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**WORDS UNSPOKEN**

Lucy made her way into the guild through the back door, a smile on her face and a spring to her step. She finally felt ready to talk to Gajeel, and she wasn't about to waste any time. But as she walked down the hall, she caught a piece of a conversation that had her drawing to a stop.

"Oh come on guys...you've seen the way she walks. All that sway...it's like she _wants_ guys to look. She's practically begging them to."

"And her clothes. It's like a constant tease," a smooth tenor added. "Kinda gives the impression of experience, don't you think?"

A soft chuckle sounded, then a deep voice agreed, "Well, you wouldn't exactly expect a girl like her to be a virgin. She's fucking hot as hell."

Lucy froze in place, her heart pounding inside her. She had a bad feeling she knew exactly who they were talking about, but she kept forcing the idea away. Because there was no way they would talk about her that way. They were her friends. They couldn't possibly think...

"Exactly! I imagine she knows her way around a man's body just fine."

Laughs went up at that, and then yet another guy said, "I still can't believe Natsu hasn't hit that. If it was me, I'd have already gotten my foot in the door if you know what I mean!"

Another round of laughter erupted, and Lucy felt her stomach turn. "I know. They're together all the time. You gotta figure he'd have the best chance out of anyone."

She eased forward, needing confirmation about what she suspected, and catching sight of all the men responsible for talking about her, she couldn't help but take a step back. It just couldn't be true. She wanted to have heard them wrong, to have misunderstood, but as they continued to tout the ways she could show them a good time, she knew she hadn't. There was no longer any doubt in her mind. She was the only woman around Natsu all the time, so who else could it be?

And that hurt. They were speaking of her as if she was nothing more than her body, that she was worth nothing outside of her ability to spread her legs. And what was more was they thought she did it frequently. She couldn't let something like that go.

She made her way to them with quick strides, overwhelming fury and humiliation warring inside her, but she refused to hide herself away as if she'd done something wrong.

"Oh Lucy!" Ren exclaimed, his eyes darting around the table. "I uh...I didn't see you there."

"Of course not," she cooed, her voice sweet as molasses as she eyed each one. She left Gajeel for last, wondering if he too was feeling ashamed, but the sight of him infuriated her further because she could find not even an ounce of worry in his eyes. "How could you when you were all so busy debating my whorish tendencies?"

Laxus coughed, looking for all the world as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. His expression turned hesitant. "That's not what we-"

"Don't worry, Laxus." Lucy shook her head, her lips pulled into an eerie semblance of a smile. "I know exactly what you meant."

Silence struck the table, spreading out to the other people sitting nearby, but Lucy didn't care who heard. She had a point to make, and she was making it. "Oh, I guess I wasn't supposed to hear that. But you know, you make a really wonderful point..." she enthused, giving a nod to her head. "After all, I couldn't possibly have anything to offer a man other other than big tits and a tight pussy, right?"

If it was at all possible, things got even quieter, the men surrounding the table sharing nervous glances. For once, even Gajeel looked perturbed, his brow furrowing in that way it did when he was confused. She shot a fierce glare in his direction. "I mean, I at least have that going for me, right Gajeel? After all, if anyone would know, it's you." She watched as the color leeched from his face and then she turned her gaze to encompass the table at large. "He didn't tell you?" She gave a mirthless laugh. "That's funny, because he tells me that my pussy is tight every fucking time he hits it."

Suddenly, Gajeel stood up. "Lucy, come on. That's enough."

"Oh was I not supposed to say that? Wow, I'm just getting everything wrong today," Lucy hummed lightly. "I guess that's because of the sheer number of men I fuck on a regular basis. How's a girl supposed to keep everything straight when she's got a forever revolving door to her crotch?" She shrugged helplessly, then continued with a sneer of a smile. "But don't worry, I'll make sure to pencil you all in for sometime next week. Wouldn't want you boys to feel left out with all the sex that's been going on behind your back."

"Lucy, what the fuck..." Gajeel came around the table, his eyes narrowed in anger as he reached for her.

She stepped back, waving off his touch to fire off one last volley. "Oh you know, Gajeel's right. I couldn't possibly fit you all in, what with all the leg spreading I'm already doing every day. So just put your name on a scrap of paper and give it to Mira, and I'll have my pimp draw one out to see which one of you lucky fellows gets to nail my slutty ass to the wall."

With that, she spun on her heel and stalked out of the guild, her head held high and her temper close to boiling. She'd never been so angry in her life, and yet that wealth of fury could only hide so much of her hurt. Because the truth was, she'd never have believed that these men, these people she'd considered her friends could talk so badly about her. And Gajeel...everything about him now spawned a violent ache in her chest. How could he just let them talk like that about her?

"Just what the fuck was all that?"

Lucy felt her jaw tighten as a calloused hand yanked her to a stop and spun her around. She knew before she saw him who it was that had followed her. She glared up into deep red eyes darkened with anger and sneered, "That was my official fuck you. Did you not get the memo?"

"A fuck you? For what? I didn't say a goddamn word!"

"Exactly, you pompous ass! You sat there and let them say all that shit about me, and you didn't say one fucking WORD!" She shook her head as tears gathered in her eyes. "They made me out to be some kind of slut, like I ran around sleeping with every Tom, Dick, and Harry, and you didn't have a damn word to say in my defense!"

Gajeel frowned. "That's not what they were saying exactly..." He shifted under her hardened gaze, then added, "And why the hell do you even care?"

"They're supposed to be my friends. You're all supposed to care about me, and that's what you think? That's how you all see me?" Her voice shook with emotion as her tears threatened to fall. "I've never been so humiliated in my life!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been yelling that shit out to the whole damn guild!" he fired back, his own tone going gravelly in his fury. "We said we wanted to keep our shit to ourselves. So that's what I did. I kept my fucking mouth shut, but you...you walk in and tell the whole goddamn world we've been fucking!"

Lucy felt her heart crack at his callous words. She should have known he wouldn't get it. All he'd cared about was keeping his secret safe. It was obvious to her now that she'd gotten it all wrong.

Somewhere in the last few days, she'd convinced herself that he cared for her in a way that exceeded a friend or casual lover. Clearly, she was way off base with her assumptions, but her mistake was easily rectified. Her jaw clenched, she looked up at the man who had come to mean so much to her and said, "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore...because from now on, this whore is no longer open for business."

She jerked herself out of his grasp as fast as humanly possible and headed straight for her house. She needed to be away from him, away from the guild, and away from the horrible words they'd said about her. It was all just too much, too painful to process, and she was afraid to even begin to try, because she knew the moment this particular betrayal hit her, she would lose it. And there wasn't a chance in hell she was crying in the street.

All she wanted was some distance or maybe for none of this to have ever happened. She'd been so happy before, but without warning, her little bubble had been burst and she was now forced to see the truth. And she just wanted it all to be over.

How could so much have happened in only an hour? How could things have changed so irrevocably?

A mere handful of minutes ago, she was smiling, nervous but excited. She'd felt invincible, as if the morning sun had already seen what was in her heart and blessed all her plans. Hope had blossomed inside her, giving her the strength to finally talk to Gajeel about making their arrangement something more permanent. She had thought at the time that they'd progressed beyond a strictly physical relationship, and she'd wanted more. It was something she'd thought long and hard about, and in the end, she'd decided to go for it.

There'd been such potential only a short time ago, but of course, all that was gone now. She couldn't keep fooling herself. The idea of the two of them being a couple had been a pipe dream, and she had finally wizened up. They had never been anything but sexual partners, never shared anything more than a few moments of pleasure.

And now, they didn't even have that. She'd just told him her crotch was out of commission, and he hadn't even reacted. She supposed he'd just find someone else to fill that need. And Mavis, that hurt. She didn't want it to, but it did. She'd so completely deceived herself into believing they were more, and now she was going to have to find her way back out of these feelings for him. Because if he had ever really cared for her, as something more than his next lay, he would have stood up for her. He would have demanded they shut the fuck up in that gruff way of his.

And he didn't. He let them rip apart her reputation all while knowing that she had only been with two men in her lifetime.

How could he do that? Even if they hadn't been intimate, shouldn't he have defended her? Weren't they friends? She'd thought so, but maybe that was stupid too. She'd apparently been making a _lot_ of assumptions where he was concerned. And it was time to stop.

She had to find a way to move on. This would just be one more thing to leave in the past. She would get over it, over him. It would just take time. She just hoped her guild mates would give her that.

Reaching her house, she pulled out her keys and unlocked the door, turning to look behind her before she went inside. So far, no one seemed to be coming after her, and she could only be grateful. She didn't want to see anyone else, didn't want to talk. She just needed some space, time to lick her wounds and regroup, and she couldn't do that with an audience.

Sadly though, she knew it wouldn't be long before her guild mates came knocking. Though their main concern would be her well-being, they would also be wondering what was going on, why she'd gone off on the guys the way she had. They'd have questions, and she didn't want to answer them just now. She wasn't even sure she could.

She just felt...lost. She'd thought for sure that Gajeel was heading in the same direction she was, on the way to becoming attached. It was the only reason she'd felt brave enough to broach the subject of more with him, but wow, had that blown up in her face. He apparently was perfectly fine with the way things were between them. All sex and nothing more. Maybe that really _was_ all that mattered to him.

* * *

Gajeel stood there as she hurried away and felt something in his chest clench. He had caught a glimpse of tears in her eyes just before she hauled ass, and that bothered him. He hated to see her cry, but to know it was because of something he'd done - or not done - bugged the shit out of him. But he didn't know what she wanted from him!

They had an agreement. They were sleeping together, quietly. No one was supposed to know. That's just how it was. They hadn't wanted to hear anyone's opinions on their association or deal with Mira's need to urge them into something more. They were satisfied with exactly where they were.

At least, that's what he told himself, but lately, he'd been wondering what it would be like to date her. It was strange really because dating wasn't exactly something he did frequently. It was just too complicated. Girls were always pushing and demanding for more. Nothing was ever good enough; they were always wanting to take him home to meet their parents and hinting about a ring and shit. It never took long for the subject of permanency to come up, and his life had never really been about that. Too many times, things had changed for him, and it had become normal for him.

Girls didn't like that. They didn't understand it. They kept expecting him to change, to turn into the guy they actually wanted. None of them were ever happy with what he had to offer. They always wanted more.

Until Lucy.

He'd expected her to do the same thing. He'd figured he had a couple months before she'd be hinting at them taking things to the next level, but it hadn't happened. She'd just kept on like before, accepting things as they were...

...and for some damn reason, he'd been disappointed.

It made no sense. He should have been fucking thrilled to find a chick willing to give him his space. It was exactly what he'd wanted. And yet it wasn't.

He felt like a damn idiot, but no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to get the idea of them together out of his head. As crazy as it sounded, he wanted her to be his girl. He wanted to take her out, make her smile in public like he did when they were alone and have no one look at him weird. He wanted to buy her shit and spend the night at her house. He was tired of sneaking around, and for fuck's sake, he wasn't _that_ guy!

Apparently, that was changing too. And shouldn't he be okay with that? Wasn't that what he was used to, things changing?

Maybe it was okay to try something new. He might suck at it, but he'd never been a coward. He went after what he wanted, and he didn't let anything stand in his way. So why should this thing with Lucy be any different?

Though, considering what had just happened, he may have missed his chance. He frowned. "Fuck..."

He didn't have a damn clue how to fix shit with her. It wasn't like he had a lot of experience with smoothing things over with a woman, and when it came to Lucy, he'd never had to even think about it. Nothing had ever happened to rock their boat.

Now though, it seemed like their boat was on its side in a fucking hurricane.

"Gajeel..."

He turned, a scowl creasing his brow at the interruption, and grunted, "What the fuck do you want?"

Laxus winced, but didn't take the hint and leave. "Just wanted to see if she's okay."

"Yeah, she's fucking great. Chicks are always happy to hear a bunch of dickheads calling them sluts." Oddly enough, in the wake of that big fucking revelation, he felt his ire rising. Suddenly, he could see all too clearly what she was talking about, because the idea of this man standing beside him insinuating that his girl was a whore made him want to rip him apart. His eyes narrowing, he sneered up at the taller slayer. "And what the fuck do you care anyway?"

Laxus drew back at Gajeel's tone, his own face crinkling with anger. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means Assface, that you shouldn't have been saying that shit about her! And if I hear that shit again, you'll be drinking your fucking milk though a straw in your goddamn ass!"

"And what about you, Dickhead? You weren't saying shit back there in the guild...not until Lucy came in and handed you your fucking ass!"

Laxus glared at the younger man, his body tight with tension and ready to spring at the first sign of aggression, but it never came.

Gajeel's expression folded almost immediately, his forehead creasing with tension. "I know! Okay? I know! I'm a goddamn jackass!"

"Well..." The lightning mage trailed off as he realized what the other man said, a look of confusion marring his face. "Okay..."

The Iron Slayer's shoulders dropped as he gazed down the road toward Lucy's house. He'd fucked up good this time, and he knew it. "She kicked my ass to the curb. Called herself a whore and told me she wasn't open for business anymore."

When she'd said those words earlier, they hadn't even touched him. At the time, he'd been so angry, they'd gone right over his head. But now...now, he couldn't seem to forget. They were stuck in his mind, and the way she'd sounded...it haunted him.

Laxus winced, his ire petering out in the presence of Gajeel's very real distress. He'd never seen the other man so upset. "That's rough man. You guys were dating?"

"Yeah...no. We were..." Gajeel frowned, feeling ashamed to admit that he'd been using the pretty blonde. It may have been consensual, but that didn't make it any less wrong. She deserved better than what he'd given her. "We were..."

He couldn't even bring himself to say it, to admit how badly he'd treated her. He was a shit, in every sense of the fucking word.

"I get it," Laxus said, putting a stop to the loop the other man seemed to be on with a heavy-handed pat on the shoulder. He didn't know what the fuck to do. He was about as comfortable doing this sort of thing as a cat was with swimming in the damn ocean. And what the hell was he supposed to say? "I...I honestly can't even believe she'd agree to that sort of thing."

Laxus winced as Gajeel's head whipped, his eyes narrowing into a glare. "What the fuck's that supposed to mean? You can't believe she'd be with a guy like me like that? I'm not good enough?"

"Jeez man, turn down the testosterone. I was just saying she didn't strike me as the type to have a purely sexual relationship with someone." The blonde rolled his eyes and threaded a hand through his hair.

Gajeel felt like an ass...again. He was doing that too many damn times tonight. "Sorry. I'm just...tense."

"Yeah," Laxus snorted, rolling his eyes. "You're tense. That's like saying Natsu's a little excitable."

The stern faced slayer couldn't help but laugh at the analogy. "Alright, so I'm freaking the fuck out. I just..I don't know what to do." Once more, he found himself staring off in the direction Lucy had gone and wondering if she'd made it home safely.

"Go talk to her."

Gajeel glanced over at the older man and scoffed, "And tell her what exactly?"

"That you're a dick? How the fuck should I know?"

"Thanks for the help, asshole." Gajeel scowled, then shook his head as his thoughts turned back to Lucy. "She's not going to listen to a fucking word I have to say now. Not after all this. I don't think I've ever seen her so pissed at me before."

Laxus snorted, raising a blonde eyebrow at the other man's claim. "You kidding me? So...not even when you kidnapped her? Or-"

"Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you? How the fuck is that helping?"

A distinct lack of concern marring his face, Laxus shrugged. "I never said I was helping. I was just pointing out that she _has_ been pissed at you before...like murderously pissed."

Gajeel stared at the man who'd become a friend, albeit a strange one, over the last few years and huffed, "Has anyone ever told you that you suck at this shit? I mean like completely?"

"What'd you want me to do, hold your fucking hand?" Laxus asked, his sarcasm accompanied by a sudden pucker of his lips. "You want a kiss too, big boy?" He held his arms out to Gajeel, a laugh billowing from his gut at how quickly the other man danced out of his reach.

"What the fuck is your problem, dickhead?!" Gajeel hollered, jumping back when Laxus made a grab for him. "Don't touch me!"

Laxus howled and cupped his face in his hands. "What's the matter, baby? I'm not your type?"

"No, you're not my fucking type! You're a dude, and fucking crazy as hell! Now, cut that shit out and help me figure out what to say to Lucy."

The taller man straightened, a smirk clinging to his face. "Well that depends on what you want to happen."

"I want..." Gajeel paused, suddenly feeling awkward with the direction this conversation was heading. He looked over at his friend, sneering at the knowing look on his face. "Shut the fuck up, shitface."

Chuckling, Laxus folded his arms across his chest. "I haven't even said anything yet."

"You were fucking thinking it!" he accused, pointing at the proud smirk the Lightning Slayer wore. "I know what you're doing!"

"And what's that, prickle dick?"

Gajeel scowled. "You're trying to make me say I like her."

Laxus' lips raised a bit more. "Are you saying you don't?"

"No, I just..."

"You just what?" Laxus mused, "You just...like her? Or do you just wanna fuck her again? Which is it, man?"

The dark-haired man shook his head, his voice raising. "It's not like that!"

"Not like what? Not like exactly what you've been doing for who the hell knows how long? That's all she's worth to you right? A piece of ass?"

Before Gajeel knew what he was doing, he'd grabbed at the collar of Laxus' shirt and yanked him in close enough to snarl in his face. "You better watch your goddamn mouth!"

To Gajeel's immense annoyance, Laxus didn't even flinch. In fact, the man looked completely at ease as his head dipped and he hummed, "That's what I thought."

The younger slayer frowned at that, wondering what the hell had just happened. Normally, Laxus wouldn't allow anyone to manhandle him the way Gajeel just had, and yet, here he was, doing nothing to stop Gajeel from getting all up in his personal space. And why the hell did he look so fucking smug?

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you wanting Lucy for real and being too big of a chicken shit to tell her that, twat face." Grinning as he was released, Laxus taunted, "And here I thought Lucy would have the pussy in the relationship."

Gajeel advanced on him again, his fist raised. "I swear to God, I'm going to smash your face in."

"In your dreams, bitch. Besides, you wouldn't want to get into a fight and have the wind blow your skirt up."

"Goddamn it, Laxus!"

* * *

It wasn't long before Gajeel made his way to Lucy's house, and standing before her door, he paused. Was he ready for this? It was a big fucking step. Yeah, he'd already been thinking of doing it before everything that had happened, but with all the shit that just went down, he was getting a bad case of nerves.

Of course, his _friend_ hadn't helped much, the sorry bastard. All he'd done is yank his chain about having a thing for a girl. It was like they were in fucking middle school or some shit.

Gajeel rolled his eyes and grunted as he curled his hand into a fist and grinned. It had felt so damn good to pop him in the face one good time after all the shit he'd been spouting. Stupid jackass. Unfortunately, that hit had cost him one of his own, and already he could feel the damn thing swelling. Oh well...it was worth it.

His head lifting, he glared at the door. He could do this. He'd faced down a fucking dragon and kicked demon ass all over the place and... Son of a bitch...so had she. What the fuck was he doing? She was going to swallow him whole.

And that was a stupid thought. Now all he could think about was the last time she'd swallowed him whole.

Shit, he was a dick. Here he was with his hat in his fucking hands to apologize for making her feel like he only cared about getting her in the sack, and he was already thinking about doing it again. Could he be an even bigger twat?

Before he could think it through, he raised his hand and pounded on the door. He winced, only just realizing how loudly he'd knocked. She'd probably think he was pissed.

A moment later, the door was thrown open, and Lucy stood there, her arms crossed and her red eyes narrowed in judgement. She looked furious, or she would have if he hadn't also caught the distinct scent of her tears. It was obvious she'd been crying, and if his nose was any indication, it was a lot.

"What the fuck do you want? I told you, we're done."

"I wanted to talk to you."

Lucy scoffed. "Right, cause we do that a lot."

Gajeel scowled at her immediate brush-off. "I'm serious."

"It doesn't matter what you call it, Gajeel. I'm still not spreading my legs for you." With that curt declaration, she spun around and slammed the door in his face.

"Son of a - Why do you have to be so goddamn hardheaded?!" he shouted, slamming a fist against the think wood that separated them. "Open the fucking door!"

All at once, the door swung open again, and Lucy stomped her way out to jab a finger into his chest. "Who the fuck are you to demand anything from me? I'm not your goddamn whore or your bitch or your fucking dog! _I_ decide what I want to do and who the fuck I want to do it with! Not you!"

"You are so..." Gajeel growled in frustration, but clamped his mouth shut at the flare of fire in her eyes. He wasn't here to make shit worse. He was supposed to be making things better. Swallowing down his anger and pride, he began again, "Look, I'm...I came here to say I'm sorry!"

Lucy drew back at the words he'd barely managed to spit out. "Why?"

She sounded so suspicious, as if she couldn't possible imagine him doing such a thing, and that was just insulting! He could admit he was wrong. "Because I'm fucking sorry!" he snapped, forgetting instantly his vow to keep his cool.

"And why's that?" she pondered, tilting her head as she tucked her arms beneath the magnificent swell of her breasts.

He looked down for only a second. It was her fault really for emphasizing the area, but that second of attention lapse was all Lucy needed to get the wrong idea. "God, I'm such a fucking idiot. I can't believe I almost bought into your bullshit again!"

"Hey, wait a fucking minute!" he snapped, grabbing her arm before she could shot back into the house.

"I'm not waiting another goddamn minute for you, you sorry sack of whale piss! That shit didn't do me a damn bit of good the last time!"

Gajeel's brow wrinkled. "What the hell are you talking about? When have you ever had to wait for me?"

"Oh don't give me that innocent look. You sat there with those...those judgmental cockblossoms, and I waited for you to say something. I stood there like some fucking moron thinking you were going to shut 'em all up, and guess what? You didn't. You didn't say a word, so now...you can wait for me...for fucking ever!" she shouted, yanking in a hopeless attempt of freeing her arm from his grasp. "Let me go!"

Gajeel's jaw tightened as he watched her eyes fill, and he couldn't help but soften his grip. He didn't want to hurt her any more than he clearly already had. "I'm not leaving until you hear me out, Lucy. I'll wait if that's what you want me to do, but I'm not going anywhere."

Lucy swallowed at his words, her head jerking to the side to shield herself from his view. "Just go away, Gajeel. I...I don't want to talk anymore."

"You don't have to talk. Just listen. Can you do that?" He stood there and waited for her to acknowledge his question, but when it became clear that she had no intention of answering, he kept going. He only hoped she could see past the pain he'd caused her to hear what he had to say. "I'm a dick, okay?" At this, Lucy sniffed, her version of an agreement, he guessed. "You were right when you said I should have stopped them. I could have, but I told you that I didn't because I was keeping our secret. But the truth is I didn't want anyone to find out we were fucking because..."

He faltered there, because this was it. The moment to tell her how he felt had come, and now that it was here, he wasn't sure he had the guts to say it.

"Because what? You were ashamed of it? Of me? Or was it just because that's all you cared about?" She fired the words off like a rocket, each missile hitting its mark at the center of his chest.

"That's not it!" he growled. "I didn't give a fuck what people thought. I just..."

Goddamn it, why were the words so hard for him to say?

"You just _what_?!" Lucy snapped, her eyes flashing as she finally looked his way again.

"I just wasn't sure that's all we were anymore!"

His eyes widened as he realized what he'd just told her, and in less than a moment's time, her own gaze matched his. This wasn't how he'd planned to tell her, but to be honest, he could only be glad it was over. It was like ripping off a bandaid. Now all he had to do was look at the damage.

Lucy stared up at him for a second, her mouth agape. "W-What?"

Gajeel gave a deep sigh and let her go. "I was confused about us, okay? I didn't know what I wanted anymore."

"I don't understand, Gajeel. What is it you're trying to say?"

"Goddamn it, you're not going to make this easy, are you?" he cursed, raking a hand through his dark hair. "I...I'd been thinking about asking you out, like on a date, but I wasn't sure what you'd think about that because you seemed perfectly fine with the way things were. So I kept it to myself, and then all this shit happened." Gajeel shook his head, grabbing her hand and forcing his gaze up to meet hers. "What you said...I never thought of you that way."

Lucy blinked several times at him, the silence stretching out to uncomfortable lengths before Lucy suddenly burst out laughing.

"What the fuck?" Gajeel griped, dropping her hand as if he'd been burned. If she wanted to gut him like a fucking fish, she'd done a fucking great job of it. He felt like a class A fool for believing she would hear him out and understand where he was coming from. "Just forget it."

He left her at her front door, a curse on his lips and an ache in his chest. He shouldn't have let Laxus convince him to talk to her. Now he looked like an even bigger dick.

"Gajeel, wait!"

Lucy ran up behind him, her tiny hands wrapping around his arm and attempting to pull him to a stop. "Gajeel! Stop, please! You said you'd wait."

Her reminder had him coming to a stop, his jaw tight and his teeth grinding together to keep from spilling his guts right then and there.

She moved around to stand in front of him, and she reached up, taking his face in her palms and raising his gaze to hers. "I didn't mean to laugh like that. I just...what you said..." She gave a soft laugh as she smiled. "I was thinking about talking to you about more too."

His brow furrowed. "You were?"

"Yeah," she flushed a bit at admitting the truth. "I was actually coming to the guild to ask you out."

Gajeel arched a pierced brow at that. "You're not supposed to ask me out. I'm the guy. We do the asking."

"Is that right?" Lucy rolled her eyes, letting her hand fall to her sides. Leave it to him to ruin a romantic moment. "Well clearly, that wasn't going to work, because, as I said before, _you_ kept me waiting."

Gajeel eyed her for a moment, a surly pout on his face until he sighed. "Fine, I'll give you that."

"How generous," Lucy gushed sarcastically.

"Hey, that wasn't easy for me!" Gajeel griped as he sidled closer, sliding his arms around her waist. "You should be more understanding."

Lucy pursed her lips. "I thought I was considering I just let you off the hook for not defending me."

He couldn't exactly argue with that. "You're letting me off the hook?" He grinned, linking his fingers together behind her back to pull her flush with his body.

"Yes, I am. For some reason I can't quite fathom yet, I like you."

Lucy rolled her eyes goodnaturedly, and Gajeel laughed. "Well, in that case then, I guess I can let you ask me out."

A snort of laughter shot from Lucy's mouth. "Wow, you're just full of it today, aren't you? Fine...will you go out with me?"

Gajeel dipped down, nuzzling at her neck as he corrected, "You're supposed to say 'Will you go out with me, Gajeel?'."

Another roll of her eyes, Lucy sighed. "Fine, will you go out with me, Gajeel?"

"Hmm...that's quite an offer," he mused, a smile in his voice as he pressed his lips to hers. "I'll have to think about it."


End file.
